Chirac Survives Assassin

PARIS, Sunday - A neo-Nazi fired a rifle shot near President Jacques Chirac during France’s Bastille Day parade on Sunday, but the march which this year highlighted French-American partnership went on.The man pulled the .22 calibre sporting rifle out of a brown guitar case and fired as Chirac passed by in an open military jeep to begin descending the Champs Elysees avenue at the head of the march commemorating the 1789 French Revolution.French media said he shot at Chirac and said his wife Bernadette had confirmed it was an assassination attempt, but official police spokesmen would not comment and police sources were cautious.“He fired in the direction of the car but the bullet went astray and nobody was injured,” said Nicolas Couteau of the Force Ouvriere police union.“I don’t think there was any plot because the shooter would have used a gun of a larger calibre,” he added. “It looks like the act of a demented person.”The man was quickly thrown to the ground, handcuffed and led away by police — both uniformed and plainclothed — responding to cries from onlookers standing opposite the Arc de Triomphe.Ends